Overall
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 87.7
- Hattiesburg
- 87.6
Diff -0.1 RPP
Watertown-Fort Drum vs Hattiesburg
Cost of living comparison based on BEA Regional Price Parities. Hattiesburg is 0.1% less expensive than Watertown-Fort Drum.
0.1% less expensive
Hattiesburg, MS is 0.1% less expensive than Watertown-Fort Drum, NY on BEA Regional Price Parities (overall RPP 87.6 vs 87.7). A $100,000 salary in Watertown-Fort Drum buys about the same as $99,935 in Hattiesburg; the largest component gap is services.
- Overall RPP 87.7 (Watertown-Fort Drum) vs 87.6 (Hattiesburg)
- $100k in Watertown-Fort Drum ≈ $99,935 purchasing power in Hattiesburg
- Services drives the gap (-55.3 RPP points)
RPP parity plate
Pair NY:MS 87.7→87.6
PHOTO-FINISH · CROSS-STATE · SPLIT-BUDGET · BOTH-BELOW · PP-PAR
- PHOTO-FINISH Photo finish
- CROSS-STATE NY × MS
- SPLIT-BUDGET Split budget
- BOTH-BELOW Both below 100
- PP-PAR PP near-par
Instrument codes from this pair's BEA Regional Price Parities (overall · goods · services · rents · national benchmark 100 · purchasing-power conversion), not a ranking or recommendation.
Watertown-Fort Drum
87.7
Cost Index
Hattiesburg
87.6
Cost Index
What This Comparison Actually Tells You
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY and Hattiesburg, MS are a photo finish on overall price level, only 0.1 RPP points apart. A salary conversion is therefore a fine adjustment, not evidence of a fundamentally different cost regime.
Services creates the largest separation: Hattiesburg is 55.3 points lower. But rents move against the overall direction, so this is a split budget rather than a clean across-the-board winner.
Comparable population context is incomplete for this pair, so no market-scale explanation is inferred from the price indexes.
Both metros remain below the U.S. benchmark of 100. This comparison chooses between two below-average price levels; “more expensive” here does not mean nationally expensive.
For a service-heavy household, test childcare, health, and other locally supplied costs before relying on rent alone. The BEA ratio converts $100,000 in Watertown-Fort Drum to $99,935 in Hattiesburg, but it is not a personal spending weight.
Category Breakdown
Goods
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 99.7
- Hattiesburg
- 96.2
Diff -3.5 RPP
Services
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 132.2
- Hattiesburg
- 76.9
Diff -55.3 RPP
Rents
- Watertown-Fort Drum
- 53.2
- Hattiesburg
- 60.1
Diff +6.9 RPP
| Category | Watertown-Fort Drum | Hattiesburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 87.7 | 87.6 | -0.1 |
| Goods | 99.7 | 96.2 | -3.5 |
| Services | 132.2 | 76.9 | -55.3 |
| Rents | 53.2 | 60.1 | +6.9 |
Visual Comparison
Overall
Watertown-Fort Drum 87.7
Hattiesburg 87.6
Goods
Watertown-Fort Drum 99.7
Hattiesburg 96.2
Services
Watertown-Fort Drum 132.2
Hattiesburg 76.9
Rents
Watertown-Fort Drum 53.2
Hattiesburg 60.1
Vertical line = national average (100)
Salary Equivalents
What a salary in Watertown-Fort Drum would need to be in Hattiesburg for the same purchasing power:
| In Watertown-Fort Drum | In Hattiesburg | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $49,967 | $-33 |
| $75,000 | $74,951 | $-49 |
| $100,000 | $99,935 | $-65 |
| $150,000 | $149,902 | $-98 |
$ in Watertown-Fort Drum = in Hattiesburg
Same BEA Regional Price Parity ratio as the table above (87.7 → 87.6), computed live from your number, nothing is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hattiesburg more expensive than Watertown-Fort Drum?
Hattiesburg is 0.1% less expensive than Watertown-Fort Drum. The overall cost index is 87.6 vs 87.7 (national average = 100).
What salary in Hattiesburg equals $100K in Watertown-Fort Drum?
A $100,000 salary in Watertown-Fort Drum has the same purchasing power as $99,935 in Hattiesburg. This is based on the BEA Regional Price Parity indexes.
How do rents compare between Watertown-Fort Drum and Hattiesburg?
Rents in Watertown-Fort Drum are indexed at 53.2 while Hattiesburg is at 60.1 (national average = 100). Hattiesburg has higher rents.
Data sources
- BEA Regional Price Parities (RPP), the cost-of-living indices shown on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), gross-rent observations behind the rents component
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI), goods and services price relatives
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), labor-driven services component
- HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR), 40th-percentile rent cross-reference
Every figure on PlainCost is rendered directly from BEA Regional Price Parity source data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, our changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-11. Rankings measure the published cost-of-living index only; we don't recommend where to live or rate any metro's quality of life.